Just a few quick shots of Amsterdam

We just got back from a bike tour of the countryside and it was WONDERFUL! We couldn't ask for better weather, the tour guide was great, and every where we looked there were breathtaking landscapes. At one point I said to the Mister that I could totally see why Rembrandt did so many landscapes. His entire world was like an oil painting. Staggeringly beautiful.

Here are a few of my favorite shots. Of course more will be posted on Facebook soon.

It's like this whole stinkin' city was designed to be a postcard

There are more bike paths than there are roads. It was sooo nice.

We stopped at this windmill that was built in 1632.

You know we had to get one of these shots.

I forced Tyler to take this one.

Vicariously yours,

Amber (can't find my picture!)

Must. Stay. Awake.

Welp, we've arrived in Amsterdam. So far, from what we've seen of the city, it's beautiful.

Granted, all we've seen is what was out the window on our taxi ride to the apartment where we're staying...but beautiful none the less.

Now, considering that it's 1:47 pm here, and 6:47 am at home, we really shouldn't go to sleep, even though that's what our bodies are so desperately asking for right now. We've promised each other that we will battle the jet lag together and stick it out and not go to sleep until it's the proper time for sleep in Amsterdam.

If we were on a live feed of our bedroom right now, you'd hear the Mister snoring. No one said we were bastions of will power.

...meanwhile, does anyone know how to make it so that our computer remembers that we speak English, even though the internet connection we're on doesn't speak English? Cause when I just spellchecked myself, this is what Google said I'd misspelled:

...and I still don't know if I spelled bastion correctly.

Anyway, we're going to be taking lots of pictures (thankfully, I did remember to pack the camera charger), and soaking up as much of Western civilization as possible in the next few days.

Thanks for all the encouraging words and addresses! Keep 'em comin'! I feel postcard fever coming on.

Vicariously yours,

Things that are currently swirling through my head at 1 AM the morning before we leave the country

Did I pack the camera charger?

I can't forget to go buy a lesson planning book tomorrow.

I really should be sleeping. Or reading.

Don't forget to pack the Tylenol PM for the flight.

What are the chances that our taxi driver will get us to where we're staying in one try? I should learn how to pronounce the address in Dutch.

I can never remember if people in the Netherlands speak Danish or Dutch....

Don't forget to fill out the life insurance forms.

Must make a deposit in the bank tomorrow.

Where is the camera charger? Did I pack it already? I should check.

Did I pack enough underwear?

CRAP. We didn't empty the dryer of the last load of laundry! And of course all the suitcases are closed...

Wonder if there's underwear in that load.

If it's cold in Amsterdam, we're screwed.

Seriously, I need to check on this camera charger situation...

We cannot forget to buy converters and adapters tomorrow. I should add that to the to-do list.

Let's face it, that to-do list is really just a guideline.

I should consider going to bed soon.

I hope I don't have horrific jet lag.

It's currently 9 in the morning in Saudi Arabia.

That's so weird.

It's Thursday, so it's the weekend, so everybody's probably sleeping in.

I should probably go to sleep.

I wonder if the car has enough gas for all the things I have to do tomorrow.

If we forget the camera charger, I'll be so upset.

Wait, if I make a deposit tomorrow, we won't have any cash...but we won't be in the country for long!!

Oh my gosh I'm leaving the country tomorrow I can't wait I'm so excited I could pee my pants.

Ooh..I kinda do need to pee.

Did I pack a book to read?

Wait, I'm sleeping in the plane, not reading.

Must sleep on plane.

Can't forget to upload the Glee CDs onto my iPod.

I'm going to miss Glee.

I'm 90% sure I put the camera charger in the carry-on. In fact I'm sure I did.

I still need to check.

Vicariously yours,

i will always love you like a long goodbye.

Nashville has been my home for 10 years. It is the longest I have lived anywhere and will probably remain that way. Not only has Nashville been the place in which I've resided, but it has been my home. This coming from an Air Force brat is kind of a big deal. I have a home...and I'm leaving that home on Thursday.

I spent tonight with a couple of the closest friends I've made here. All of them from Sewanee, and say what you will about that, but I literally teared up on the way home. I would love to regale you with fantastical descriptions of these friends that are, of course, well deserved but I think I would leave something out, and the fact that I just left them makes me too emotional to do them justice.

But no, this post is about my city, my home.

One of Ellyn's friends, I don't know who, put the song "Nashville" by David Mead on a mix that was in her car when I was driving it tonight. I'm not really sure if the song's about leaving Nashville or coming home to it, but I listened to it on repeat while I drove around tonight. I kept coming back to the last line in the song... "I will always love you like a long goodbye." That really truly is the way I feel about leaving this place.

I've never really had to leave home before. Firstly, because I didn't really have one. I have moved every three years for basically my entire life. And secondly, because I went to college about an hour and a half away from here...then promptly moved back. So now that I am going off to teach overseas, I am leaving home for the very first time. I think that's a good thing, though...don't misunderstand. But I love Nashville.

I love lower Broad. I love the Titans. I love Karl Dean. I love country music (seriously.). I love the Flying Saucer. I love the neighborhoods. I love the hipsters in East Nashville. I love the weird restaurants that think they're in Portland. I love Baja Burrito. I love how Old Hickory Blvd. is one road, but really is like 10 different ones. I love how all the roads have 3 different names, but are all actually the same road. I love Brentwood High. I love Vaughn's Gap. I love that the Parthenon is made of concrete. I love that you can drive 20 minutes in any direction and end up in the country. I love the Ryman. I love that my AP English teacher sang for the Opry. I love that my friends came here from all over and all of them love it. I love the name Nashthrill. I love the Batman building. I love the concerts on the river.

I've spent so much of my life here and it's hard to think of how I'm going to be anywhere else. Am I the same Tyler taken out of the context of this city? I think I'll always be the same guy...but shaped by the city that I've lived in and loved for 10 years of my life. Nashville, you will forever be my home...and I will always love you like a long goodbye.

Vicariously yours,

the weather and other interesting things

Ladies, Gentlemen, Clint...

I've been thinking a lot about how everyday life is going to be in Saudi. I keep coming back to the weather. In Nashville, it's a balmy 59 at night in early September. In Saudi, we're looking at 84 at like 3 AM. We're almost in hoodie weather in middle Tennessee. I suddenly don't think I've packed enough shorts.

But then again, if I remember correctly, winter on the Arabian peninsula was fantastic. It got sweaterish cool and that was about where it stopped. I always think of Sewanee in February when I think of the worst of winter weather. I remember thinking, "good grief, if it would have just stayed October temperature it would be perfect." Fortunately for me...that's about what I have to look forward to. The average low in the dead of winter is about 65. I'm pretty excited about that. I'm not gonna lie...great weather is something that I have come to really love about fall in Tennessee. The absolute worst time of the year here has to be February. During my freshman year of college, I had a series of 3 weeks where there was NO SUN. Clouds literally the entire time. Nothing brings on the seasonal affect disorder like no sun and cold, rainy weather.

However, Saudi will be different because there will be sun. Now, there will be some oddities that are very specific to the area we're in. Like sandstorms. Not like Plant Earth sandstorms...but just the ones that turn the sky orange. Like this...

Pictured: Khaled

I'm totally ready to have that be the weirdest weather thing that I have to deal with. I'm certainly not the type to be excited about digging my car out of 3 feet of snow. Like this...

Pictured: Raina's Saturn

Weather is something that I haven't really thought a whole lot about outside of, "wow, Saudi, huh? gonna be hot there, right?" Yeah...it's gonna be hot. Also, the sky is blue...who'd of thunk. As we count down the days (there are 4 of them) until we get to the big sandy, I get more and more thoughtful about the regular stuff that we're going to deal with. Weather's just what I'm thinking about now.

Vicariously yours,

womp womp

A common question we've been getting is, "Are your parents going to come visit you while you're in Saudi Arabia?"

Previously our answer has been, "Well, it's really difficult to get a tourist visa in Saudi Arabia, so probably not."

But now, our answer can only be, "No."

womp. womp.

In other news: WE LEAVE ON THURSDAY!!!

Vicariously yours,

i had this weird dream...and then i got a haircut...

Vicariously yours,